Rattleproof door latch



April 30, 1940. $|TKQ 2,198,952

RATTLEPROQF DOOR LATCH Filed March 28, 1938 Pam? [7 827%0 ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RATTLEPROOF DOOR LATCH Frank A. Sitko, Fingal, N. Dak.

Application March 28, 1938, Serial No. 198,522

2 Claims. (01. 292-163) This invention relates to rattleproof door latches and has for its principal object to produce a simple yet practical and eflicient door latch which will prevent rattling due to gusts of wind 5 against the door and from other causes of vibration.

A particular object of the invention is to provide an improved latch bolt element which will readily snap into engaging relation to the keeper l element when the door is closed and having an effective wedging action against the keeper in the closed position of the door and having also a cooperative stop portion for preventing the release of the latch bolt from the keeper element when excess pressure is exerted upon the door tending to force it open.

Another object is to provide an improved rattleproof latch bolt element which may be applied to the ordinary lock body and operating mech- 20 anism without material alteration in the latter.

With these and other objects to be attained, as will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists in the novel general construction and in the parts and combinations and arrangepointed out with particularity in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawin in which 0 Figure 1 is a fragmentary section through the adjacent portions of a door and door frame, showing the improved latch device applied thereto and the door in closed position; and

Figure 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section.

Referring now to-the drawing the numeral l0 designates a pillar or jamb member of the door frame having the usual door stop or molding ll thereon. Secured to the face of the door frame member ID is a conventional keeper including a striker plate l2 having the camming edge portion l3 and rectangular keeper opening inwardly therefrom and surrounded by a corresponding box-like embossment [4 which is located in a 45 mortise provided therefor in the frame member III, the comer of the plate and front wall portion l5 of said embossment l4 constituting the keeper or retaining shoulder for the latch bolt as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Set into the adjacent portion of the door It, in the usual manner, is a latch body housing I! in which the latch bolt, designated generally by the numeral I8, is slidably mounted as. in the ordinary door latch structure, said latch bolt 18 having the usual yoke portion I9 which straddles ments of parts as hereinafter described andthe cross-shaft on which the usual door knobs 2| are mounted. As shown, the shaft member 1 20, which is of square cross-section, has the usual mechanism thus far described is of the ordinary 10' construction and arrangement and as far as the present invention is concerned may be modified in many respects, it being understood that the spring elements normally act upon the latch bolt to hold it in extended keeper engaging po- 16 sition and the bolt being retracted by turning the knobs 2| in either direction and causing either of the cam lugs 23 to engage the adjacent lug 24 on the latch bolt so as to force the bolt back against tension of the spring elements I) 25.

The latch bolt 18 has a head 21 which is slidably mounted in the body casing l1 and its forward end portion being projected through the usual front opening provided therefor in the 25.

body casing. As shown, the head 21 is provided on one side with a cam face 28 of approximately forty-five degree angularity which engages the camming edge portion I3 of the striker plate as the door is moved into closed position whereby 30 the latch bolt is forced back and rides with its extreme end portion upon the striker plate l2 until the recessed portion I4 is reached, whereupon the latch bolt is snapped into engagement with the corner of the plate [2 and wall portion 85 [5 thereof, as will now be described.

The angularity of the beveled or inclined face portion 28 is such that the latch bolt 18 is readily forced back against the tension of the springs 25 as in the ordinary door latch structure, and the opposite side of the head 21, as shown more clearly in Figure 1, is beveled or inclined, as at 29, at a rather acute angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the bolt as compared to the other beveled portion 28, said face portion 29 being urged into slidable engagement with the adjacent corner portion 30 of the striker plate l2 and wall portion l5 with a wedging action under the force of the springs 25 which moves the door I6 into contact with the stop molding ll.

The wedging action of the latch bolt head portion 21 under. the force of the springs 25 is sufficient to prevent rattling of the door under the intermittent pressure of gusts of wind and from other causes of vibration and will ordinarily hold the door closed under such conditionabut, to prevent the door from being forced open when subjected to considerable excess pressure or vibratory force a longitudinal off-set shoulder portion 3! is provided at the extreme end of the latch bolt in marginal mergence with the two beveled or inclined faces 28 and 29. This off-set shoulder portion 3| will engage the wall portion l5 of the keeper adjacent the corner 30 if the latch bolt 3 is forced back by the engagement of the inclined portion 29 on the corner portion 30 of the keeper when excessive force is applied to the outer side of the door I6 and thereby effectively holds the door against opening except for a veryslight distance away from the stop molding ll, thus functioning as a safety catch to prevent the opening of the door unless the latch bolt I8 is retracted by manipulation of the-knobs 2|.

In accordance with the present invention, pro- Vision is made for a definite normal projection of the head portion 21 of the latch bolt beyond the edge of the door so as to take care of the variation in the space between the edge of the door and the adjacentvsideof the pillar or jamb memher. In due to swelling and shrinkage because of the change inatmospheric conditions, that is to say, the lug portions 24 are located on the yoke IQ of the latch bolt so as to engage the opposed lugs 23 on the roll-back 22 whenthe latch bolt is at the limit of the longest relative projection of its head portion 21 but are spaced an appreciable distance from said lugs 23 when the beveled portion 29 of the head 21 engages the corner 30 of the keeper in the closed position of the door under normal atmospheric conditions.

Obviously, the structure admits of considerable modification within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangements shown.

What is claimed is:

1. In a door latch, in combination with a conventional keeper having a retaining shoulder opposed to the conventional stop against which the door is closed, aspring-pressed latch bolt having a head portion normally projected in keeper-engaging position, the projected head portion of the bolt formed with an inclined end face of substantial length on one side of a longitudinal plane with its forward end terminating in such plane, said inclined face being of camming angularity to engage the keeper and force the bolt back during the closing of the door but being free of engagement with the keeper when the door is closed, an opposed inclined end face also of substantial length on the head portion of the bolt relatively inward from the other inclined face and with its forward end terminating in the same longitudinal plane, said opposed inclined face being of more acute wedging angularity to engage the retaining shoulder of the keeper and hold the door-in its closed position against the door stop, and a flat longitudinal stop shoulder on the head portion of the bolt of lesser length than each of said inclined faces and extending between the ends of the two faces in the plane thereof 'to engage the retaining shoulder of the keeper and hold the door substantially closed upon partial retraction of the bolt and disengagement of said opposed inclined face of the bolthead from the keeper shoulder.

2. In a door latch, in combination with a conventional keeper having a retaining shoulder opposed to the conventional stop against which the door is closed, a spring-pressed latch bolt having a head enlargement of polygonal form at its outer end normally projected in keeper-engaging position, said head having flat guide faces on opposite sides thereof, an inclined end face of substantial length extending from one guide face and terminating at its forward end in a plane parallel and adjacent to the longitudinal axis of the bolt, the angularity of said inclined face being approximately forty-five degrees from said guide face and engaging the keeper with cam effect to force the bolt back during the closing of the door but being free of engagement with the keeper when the door is closed, an opposed inclined end face, also of substantial length, extending from the opposite guide. face of the bolthead at an angle of substantially thirty degrees and terminating with its forward end in the same plane with but at a relatively short distance inwardly from the end of the other inclined face, said opposed inclined face wedgingly engaging the retaining shoulder of the keeper and holding the door in its closed position against the door stop, and the bolthead being formed with a flat longitudinal stop shoulder in the plane between the forward endsof the two inclined end faces to engage the retaining shoulder of the keeper and hold the door substantially closed upon partial retraction of the bolt and disengagement of said opposed inclined face of the bolthead from the keeper shoulder.

FRANK A. SITKO. 

